Sandra Ramos studied at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes San Alejandro in Havana, under notable artist José Bedia. Her career began during a pivotal time in Cuba, the 1990s, marked by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and a declining economy with extreme food shortages, which resulted in an unprecedented exodus of Cuban natives. This was a troubled period in Ramos’ personal life, as her husband and family members all migrated while she remained in Cuba. Thus, her works reflect isolation, despair, loss and sorrow, with a Surrealist undertone. She works in a variety of mediums including painting, etchings, collage, installations and digital animation, making mordant comments on Cuban sociopolitical issues. An ongoing leitmotif in her work is the use of a fictional character based on Greek mythology, who represents an innocent girl oblivious of life’s struggles. Ariadne’s face is a self-portrait of the artist much like a Cuban Alice in Wonderland, embodying a child explorer under the Fidel Castro regime. The present work La anunciación is part of one of her most famous series in which Ariadne receives miraculous news from an animated Angel Gabriel. In Catholicism, The Annunciation alludes to the beginning of Jesus in his life on earth. However, this particular version of La anunciación reminds viewers of the artist’s solace under the Castro regime. Ramos has exhibited extensively in Europe and the United States and her works are held in prestigious collections of institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.